Anoka County: Body found in park possibly missing Coon Rapids man

Authorities are not saying why they suspect a body found in a wooded Anoka County park area might be that of a missing Coon Rapids man.

Visitors to the Three Rivers Park District came across the body Tuesday, Sept. 4, in an undeveloped area about a mile from the Coon Rapids Dam, according to Cmdr. Paul Sommer, spokesman for the Anoka County sheriff's office.

Investigators believe the body could be that of 31-year-old Alan Lyle Taylor, Sommer said, though he would not say why.

"We're not ready to discuss that right now," Sommer said.

Sommer also would not say whether foul play might be involved or whether any suspects are being pursued until autopsy reports determine the cause of death.

Taylor was last seen Aug. 27 when neighbors spotted him climbing into a passenger seat of a Pontiac outside his Coon Rapids home.

Since then, there has been no activity on his cellphone and none of his credit cards has been used. Taylor's family previously told investigators that Taylor enjoyed fishing at the Coon Rapids Dam.

"We'd been planning to do a ground search there but before it actually got under way, someone found a body," Sommer said.

No signs of trauma to the body were visible. The body was found on the ground about 30 feet from the riverbed, Sommer said. There was no "remarkable" evidence and no signs of a confrontation uncovered at the scene, he added.

Sommer said Taylor's family was given word about the recovery Tuesday and told the body might be Taylor's.

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"They took it hard but they seemed to be expecting that news," Sommer said.

Family members previously had told investigators that Taylor's disappearance was particularly worrisome because it did not appear he had packed for a trip and because he had planned to start school at Anoka Technical College.

He was expected at a barbecue over the holiday weekend.

When reached at his Coon Rapids home, Taylor's father, Gary Taylor, said the family did not want to comment as members await more information from law enforcement.